The Quest of the zhiah parts one to eight
by dragons mirth
Summary: a group of neopets fight to save neopia


The Quest of the Zhiah-part one: When a cloud comes over  
  
Dorgon the Uni stared up at the evening sky. the last traces of daylight were being eliminated and the dark navy seemed to spread endlessly over to the horizen, where a streak of inky black met the land. the sea, she thought, probably as black as it looks from here in the dark. water always looks black at night.it reflects light, and when there is no light, it must reflect dark.  
  
she turned over on the cold , crisp grass and shuddered. by now the sky was dotted with little sparkling stars. she really ought to be getting back. she had been out for hours.  
  
as if he knew what she was thinking, Velmon ,her freind the starry peophin, came out to call her in. he came over the hill, so for a moment his starry silouette was shaped against the starry sky, the shades blending. Dorgon was just thinking how beautiful it looked when he called to her, taking her by surprise.  
  
"Dorgon! are you planning to Go home, or sit in the meadow all night?"  
  
the voice had startled her out of her trance and now she climbed to her feet, shook herself, and walked stiffly towards him.  
  
"dont shout so suddenly like that. i cant tell you apart from the sky, you know. i could hardly see you" this she said with a hint of accustion. almost as if he had spoken harshly to her.  
  
"dont be silly. you just wanted to lie out till all hours, like normal. besides, i can hardly see you now youre that navy color. you look just like the ground."  
  
"im not green" she protested , nudging him. "besides, i cant go home, its still being built. these neohomes tale forever. ill stay at the lodge again"  
  
"you dont have any neopoints" he reminded her, setting off woth her towards th lodge.  
  
"you'll pay for me, wont you? just this last night. i pomise. it'll be finished tomorrow"  
  
"thats what you said yesterday. and the day before"  
  
"okay, well, maybe it wont be the last night. but youre loaded anyway. look how many times youve changed color! think how many layers of paint you must have on"  
  
he made no reply and the two walked inside into the foyer of the lodge. Dorgon walked up to the counter.  
  
"please can i have a room for one night?" she requested politley, holding her hand out behind her so Velmon could slip the neopoints into her hand. she felt the coins being plonked down and felt reassured.  
  
the posh-looking gelert behind the counter put on a pair of glasses resembling two monocles and Dorgon giggled. the gelert peered at her.  
  
"oh, its you again, is it? Dorgon . i shouldve guessed. ill have you know the manager was very put out when he saw your room-it resembled a pig sty. you will only be staying here if you are capable of tidying, and also remembering your luggage."  
  
Dorgon blushed. she had been certain she would return that night and so had left her clothes and items in her wardrobe, hoping they would remain hidden. behind her velmon tried not to laugh.  
  
"i'll tidy up, miss, i promise," she said, looking over her shoulder and glaring at velmon. he giigled and mouthed, "oh-oh, another promise, look out!" and Dorgon turned back to the gelert to receive her keys her mouth forcing back and eruption of laughter.  
  
"i hate you!" she burst out and they stumbled into the hall, laughing. "i so nearly laughed in her face. and anyway, what does she mean, luggage? all i hav is a few bits of clothing and the purse"  
  
"with zilch neopoints in it-how are you going to pay me back?" he spluttered, still giggling.  
  
"ill earn it. somehow. anyway, i dont think you deserve it, the way i nearly had to sleep rough for a night back there!"  
  
"like youd care! you could watch the sky all night, even if it was completely clear and still and freezing and your toes had nearly dropped off, you would never come back in"  
  
Dorgon said nothing, pretending hurt, and opened the door to her room. she checked in the wardrobe and began to panic as her eyes searched the empty closet-ther clothes had gone.  
  
"oh. no!" she groaned, and searched the room in panic, before opening the door to a spare cupboard and finding her clothes safely stashed away.  
  
"alright?" Velmon stood by the door, ready to go. "are you Okay for the night?"  
  
"yes, ill live, mr utterly caring. leave me to sleep now. ill see you in the morning" he waved and shut the door.  
  
Dorgon switched off the lights and settled into bed. only then did she let her mind wander back to what she had been thinking of earlier, when she had been watching the sky. she was absaloutly certain of it now, after watching the sky at night for a week. there was no other explanation.  
  
long ago, when her mother had been alive, Dorgon had been told the story of the Zhiah. it was a spirit, a being, a powerful force, literally a web of reality that held the world together. withouth the zhiah, the planet would collapse and life would become evil and heartless.  
  
when the Zhiah first entered the world, he swore no evil would ever live in his planet, his precious neopia. when evil and badness came around, The Zhiah would become angry. he would let the evil expand to a point where the once good and kind people destroyed their own planet.  
  
the only way to return the zhiah to his former tranquility was to visit his spiritous abode , where he would set the adventurer a quest, sometimes faraway, always perilous. and when the quest was complete, the zhiahs anger was soothed, and peace ruled the world again. but to evem contemplate going on a journey like that.......you would have to be five times as well trained as her. yet she was the only one aware of the slow growth of darkness which, if left to grow and spread, would slowly creep in and dampen the heart of every good soul alive...until the zhiah no longer reighned, but the darkness, and the black sun, were all the existed.  
  
she shuddered and huddled into her bedsheets. the night suddenly seemed freezing. she seemed so small and insignificant, the thought of what she had to do seemed so impossible. the fear had not yet set in, there was only bewilderment.  
  
again she huddled down and tried to sleep. eventually she became drowsy, and passed into a shallowd dream-tossed sleep, where the black sun was as close up and black and one blade of grass to another of the grassy meadows where the revelation had first begun.  
  
But she was not alone .  
  
over on the far side of the feild, where Dorgon hereslef had lain not so long ago, stood a fire lupe. he was sleek and strong, and he faced she sky. he too was reading the movements of the stars which had led him, too, to the conclusion that the zhiah had been angered.  
  
or, worse than that, saddend and deafeated.  
  
for the lupe knew more than dorgon. his name was Rako, and he was a direct messanger of the Lequa.  
  
and the lequa was the arch enemy of the zhiah. while the zhiah represented the goodness and peace in the world, the Lequa encouraged all evil and mutiny. for years he and his army and followers had been imprisoned inside the A-zone of the other world. but now he had become so powerful that he broke free of all zone restraints, and he had immediately sent his most relied upon spy, Rako , to neopia to gather information on the planet. Rako was certain that evil and shadows had begun to spread across the planet. the results would please The Lequa, he was sure. smiling wryly to himself, he shivered and set off towards the wishing well in the town. there he slipped quietly down the hole, falling further until he felt the soft smoke under his feet and knew he had arrived in the shadowlands.he rushed towards a tower, leaving no trace of his existence behind.  
  
The Quest of the Zhiah-part two-secrets  
  
when velmon woke in themorning, he immidiately headed for the lodge. he knew dorgon would never get up without good reason. and today, he had good reason. again he glanced worridly, still unsure if it was possible. but the black words glared out at him, stolid and unrelenting.  
  
TWO YOUNG NEOPETS DISSAPEAR OVERNIGHT-STRANGER SEEN LURKING ROUND TOWN  
  
he shuddered as he ran up the stairs of the lodge, thinking just how easily it could have been him and dorgon taken from the meadows last night. it was horrifying.  
  
"dorgon!" he hammered on her door. "dorgon, wake up!"  
  
she opened the door looking sleepy.  
  
"look!" he thrust the paper in her face, watching her expression turn from misunderstanding to fear to horror as she read.  
  
"oh my goodness! zaran and cheeky! i know them!dont you see-" she struggled to keep the panic in-"dont you see what this means?"  
  
"i thought so" he said quietly . "i just wanted to ask you first. i thought youd know better"  
  
they both stood in silence for a moment, looking at the picture of the two smiling meercas, happy and careless. now they were gone.  
  
"this is way over our heads" dorgon groaned. "we should tell someone"  
  
velmon looked at her curiously. "do you know something i dont?" he asked gently.  
  
she nodded. the enormity of it al was hitting her now.   
  
"its bad, velmon. its almost impossible. you know that-" she paused, wiping tears away. "did your mother tell you - about the zhiah?"  
  
he said nothing, staring fixedly out the window, his jaw set awkwardly. he did not reply for a while and when he did it was only one word.  
  
"yes"  
  
"and-and the Lequa?" she trembled.  
  
he didnt reply this time. there was no need to. they bot hknew just how significant this was.  
  
"but he promised" she whispered. "its in the story. he promised. he promised hed never take a neopet again. the thought of what hell do to them to make them talk-to tell neopias weaknesses - " she trailed off.  
  
"have you got the story with you?" he asked her. she nodded and went to get the old leatherback. once away from velmon she threw herslef on the bed and curled up so toght she could barely breath. please, please, she begged. dont let it be true.  
  
Velmon could hear his freind crying in the other room. he knew she could go on for hours and was best left alone. he also knew that if this had anything to do with the lequa then they were all in serious trouble.  
  
He thought back to the night before in the meadow. they had been happy and carefree then, playing about with no responsibilties except velmons job as a shopkeeper, which was not taken at all seriously.  
  
now the very future of neopia lay in their hands. no-one else had dorgons ability to read the sky , he was sure. there was only one thing to do; visit the zhiah. the very thought of it made him shudder. the zhiah himself was a harmless living force, but the route to the zhiahs alcove was perilous and few made it there alive, if not kidnapped by the dangerous strangers , whos sole intention seemed to be to destroy neopia. how were they to make it? they could not go alone, he was sure.  
  
the noise of the door from the hall being opend shocked him out of his thoughts. he pressed back up against the wall, scared whoever it was would throw him out and dorgon would be alone in her current state.  
  
however, whoever it was had no intention of throwing him out. the invader himself needed thowing out. he was dressed all in black and his face was hidden by a scarf. velmons heart leapt. could this be the stranger who had taken cheeky and zaran? if it was, it seemed he was here with every purpose of hunting down and finding dorgon . if he didnt stop him, dorgon could be taken from the world for forever. and what would that mean for neopia?  
  
"hey you! stop!" he called, then ducked down behind the chest of drawers. please, dorgon, hear him!! he called silently.  
  
dorgon had no need to hear him. her head was never silent anyway. it screamed loud and long with the fears building up inside her. the evil was growing, it was spreading, it was even here in he room. to take her away. the lequa had sensed her and now he sent a messanger to take her away.  
  
please go.please go. please go.  
  
she chanted inside her head desperately.  
  
please go. please go. please go.  
  
then she heard a cry.  
  
"hey you! stop!"  
  
"no-one can stop me now!"  
  
Velmon!  
  
he was in the other room! and now the messengar was after him.....  
  
Dorgon heaved herself from her bed. the door seemed miles away as she ran to stop the messanger. her hooves groped and she found the wooden handle, flung the door open, and stumbled into the room.  
  
it was empty.  
  
"Velmon?" she called in a small voice. "velmon?"   
  
it was no use. he was gont. the black stranger had taken him to the lequa. she was alone on neopia, with no-one who understood the fear growing inside her.  
  
she looked round the room again. everything was deathly silent. a chilling breeze wafted in from the open window.  
  
the open window?  
  
the window hadnt been open!!!  
  
racing to the window, dorgon flung it open and pushed her front half of her body out of it and onto the ledge outside. it was only 2 feet wide and crumbling at points. right now, dorgon didnt care .  
  
she peered round desperately .there! further along the ledge, two neopets struggled desperatly for their balance. one was behind the other. its them, she told herslef. it has to be.  
  
"Velmon!" she called. one of the figures turned round. it was a starry peophin.it was velmon.  
  
"velmon?"  
  
pushing herself fully out onto the ledge , dorgon began to run along it and get to velmon. he had to be stopped. he had to come back.  
  
"velmon! dont ! youll fall!"  
  
velmon shook his head and carried on after the spy. they were both now two rooms down from dorgons. the ledge was getting moe precarious.  
  
"velmon, please come back!" she called.  
  
they began to fightthen, tussling and pushing each other. dorgon could hardly bear to watch. then he fell.  
  
he tumbled down....down into the busy square below.  
  
The Quest of the Zhiah-part three-Rako escapes  
  
Once he had pushed the persistant starry peohin off him, Rako had headed immediately back to the Lequa. there was no question of getting the one who sensed the danger now-she would be on the lookout day and night. he would have to let things settle.  
  
he hadnt waited to see where the peophin had landed, hed had just scuttled off and dived down the well. the rank smell always made him wrinkled his nose. it was a familiar smell , though. it smelt like home.  
  
it was comforting to know that some things would stay the same. Rako and the Lequa and all his minions had lived in the A-zone of Literal Reality-ALR-for years, until his powers had exceeded the zhiahs and zone restraints no longer troubled them. the new matirial , Invisi-Metac, had been used to build the bridge between the two worlds. it seemed strange to him, after all these years in the bleak Literal Reality zone , to be in a real solid world with basic gravity restraints and the power of minds no longer applied.   
  
looking ahead, he could see a murky grey object, and brought himself out of his thoughts. here the invisible tunnel ended, his movement was returning to him.  
  
"i Hope hes not in a foul mood" he murmered. giving bad new to the lequa was never easy and if he was in a foul mood things would only be worse.  
  
he passed the security guard lupe by the door.   
  
"admission to adress news to the Lequa, please" he said.  
  
the lupe looked at him senerely. "perhaps it should wait. hes not being very co-opartive right now. you dont want to aggrivate him, do you?"  
  
"its very important news, sir. i think i should tell him straight "  
  
The guard shrugged. "your job you'll lose, i supose. in you go" he opened the doors and Rako trotted in cautiously. he held his head upright, wanting to look smart and not provoke the lequa even more.  
  
"why are you in here? didnt i tell the guard not to let anyone in? are you in the habit of disobeying orders?"  
  
Rako cringed and shuffled. "well, you see , sir, i came to tell you that the kidnapping of the one who senses danger was unsuccessful, due to the fact she was not alone" he then made to go, desperate to be out the way.  
  
"stay around, Rako. if im right thats not the first time youve not completed orders. and if im right again that means a demotion."  
  
Rako stared at him, unsure of what would happen.  
  
"you are at the moment Cheif spy. Im afraid youve been far too unreliable, Rako. Youre back down to a Team Leader spy. send for Banker, He'll be the new Cheif spy. no doubt hell be delighted" he said, a thin smile spreading across his lips . he tapped his fingers for a moment on the arms of his chair, then his old frown came back to place.  
  
"now make yourself scarce. i dont like shirkers. youll have to work hard to regain your old place."  
  
halfway between anger ad fear, Rako crept from the room and ran down to the Dorimitarys. he swung his head round the door of the nearest.  
  
"Lequa wants you, Banker" he said, and ran off. seeing Bankers scared face returned his former spirit and he scuttled back round to the tunnel. he may be a team leader spy , but the guards didnt know that. and if he returned with The Uni soon, maybe he would regain his old place.  
  
When dorgon had seen velmon fall from the ledge, she had felt her heart stop. the whole world seemed silent for a few minutes. hours, it seemed like. then there was a shout. and a thud and scuffel.  
  
"hey! do you mind?"  
  
Dorgon ran as fast as she could, down to the street. she had heard him. he had to be alright. she was panting and there was stitch in her side but she reached the outside of the neolodge and called for him.  
  
"velmon!!"  
  
she waited, heart in her mouth.  
  
"over here!"  
  
and then she was off running again, round the next corner until she saw him, dusty and scratched but on his feet and seemingly unhurt.  
  
"youre okay? even though you fell so far? who was that person?" she gabbled, trying to fight her way after him through the crowd who were waiting for the mysterious lupe to make a reapperance.  
  
"calm down " he said, although his own heart was racing and his eyes were wild with the chase. "he must have been a spy of the Lequa and yes im okay. if i were you id leave the neolodge at once. theyll b expecting you there" he panted.  
  
"where else can i go? " she said, panic rising in her voice. "my neohome wont be finishes for weeks!!"  
  
"there must be one room finished? " he questioned her.  
  
"No! theres not even an furntiure! and i cant sleep out, not with the spys about. ill just have to change rooms, velmon. i cant leave now"  
  
"and howll you pay? i cant pay forever! its costing me a fortune, dorgon"  
  
"then can i stay at your place? please? just till things die down! i need somwhere! please, velmon" she begged, grabbing at him.  
  
he weakened a little, "alright. but we havent got a spare room. youll be sleeping on the sofa, you know"  
  
"anywhere " she said, weak with releif. "thank you, velmon. ever so much. youre a star" she said, and together they headed up to the neohospital to get velmon checked over.  
  
it turnedo ut he was fine, although a little bruised and scratched, and he would ache for a while. velmon was glad there was no other damage done and then they dithered about, not sure where to go.  
  
"shall we look around the market?" he suggested. "i know you have no money but itl take our minds off things"  
  
she agreed and the spent the rest of the day wandering round looking longingly at paintbrushes and buying the odd bit of food for cheap. the shops were sometimes very large and expensive and the posh owners with their painted pets looked down their noses and gave them the giggles. by the time they returned home to velmons dorgon had lost the shaky feeling in her knees and was startin to relax.  
  
"we could go up to tyrannia tomorrow" he said to her. "get a bit of free omlette. and then we could visit the fruit machine and see what we get!"  
  
it could have been any normail peophin and uni doing any normal thing.   
  
but late at night when dorgon still lay awake she felt the fear engulfing her , overtakin her. she didnt kno what to do. she was scared .  
  
she began to recite a poem se wrote a while ago, to calm herself. it was about the evening sunset and the sun sinking into the sea, the sky full of purple streaks and gold clouds. it began to soothe her until she noticed a shadow moving outside the window. she froze.the shadow looked around, aware someone was missing. he picked an object up and ran.  
  
dorgon broke out in s cold sweat. how could she do this alone? no-one understood the fear. not even velmon. no matter how many people were with her shed still be alone with the fear.   
  
she looked out the window. the moon was hight and the sky clear and starry. it was going to be a cold night,  
  
The quest of the Zhiah- Part four-Calm before Storm  
  
Dorgon tried hard to enjoy her next few days. she and velmon had a jaunt up to tyrannia, happy valley and even caught a boat to the mystery island and did a spot of training. But no matter how hard she tried to hide herself showing what she felt she couldnt relax. passing all the beautiful scenery, the mountains, sea ans sky ans singing birds depressed her at the thought of if being destroyed by the Lequa in his heartless Zone Of literal reality. down here in neopia were it was real was what mattered and it was all going wrong. the sky streaked with gold like the poem as she sat down at sunset, alone on the green hill seemed to soothe and sympathise with her. the gentle cold wind blew strongly but not harshly and it seemed to her for a moment she was at one with the breeze, flying , a lost soul with the wind. she could fly up with her flowing self and see the mountains, the sea and the hills like toys one moment , and close up and real as ever the next.  
  
But the magic breeze dropped and the slow drizzle began to becom heavier. Soon the rain was pelting down. it started slowly enough, creeeping down heavier and heavier as if it was trying to go unnoticed, soaking into the land, falling through cracks and mixing with the sweet earth to make the indignified mud that said nothing for the beauty of the hillside.  
  
she remembered a night, long ago, when she had stood here on the hill with the warm sun on her back, falling gently as golden rays onto the land that spread before her. oh, it had been a proud happy place then, displaying it as its best, a gloating happy place! now shadows lurked in every corner and the speaking wind had been defeated by the acid burning rain. it stung her as it fell but she made no move.  
  
Velmon knew where dorgon was. he had seen the rain but he knew that dorgon was best left alone to sort herslef out. he hadnt felt the magic of the wind, the growung feeling that they wernt alone, bu he had felt a lift in his heart as the wind sang round the corner and disapeared. then the heartache of returning to the dull dark world, and knowing you couldnt make a difference to what happened.   
  
she returned a little hapier from the fresh air and they had a laugh all evening. anything to take her mind off the slow spread of shadow. but when they settled down th sleep, dorgon once again felt herself bein watched. by who she didnt know. velmon was asleep already and she didnt want to wake him.   
  
but she just knew someone was out there. tiptoeing to the window, she quickly drew back the window-and screamed.  
  
staring at her through the glass was a huge viscous fire lupe. when he saw her he leapt right through the glass and onto her.  
  
velmon was awake in moments tearing at the lupe but was taken down by two gelerts who had followed the lupe through the glass. two others came through after them and surrounded dorgon and velmon.  
  
"oh no" whispered dorgon. she backed up into one of the gelerts who snapped at her and growled.  
  
the spys moved in , tightening the circle around them . any moment now dorgon was sure they would leap on her and finish them off.  
  
just as the lupe prepared to jump, another figure came crashing through the broken window. this time, it was a heavy looking red shoyru, armed and not afraid to fight. he matched the big lupe up for size and was immediately tackling him to the ground in a flurry of colors.  
  
"get the others!" velmon called to dorgon. they ran at the gelerts who, without their leader to back them up, started to back off.   
  
"keep it up!" she called, and they chased the gelerts right out the house.   
  
when they returned the shoyru had succesfully beaten the lupe, who was sitting in a corner backed up against the wall.   
  
"thank you so much!" velmon gasped as he staggered back in. the shoyru smiled grandly and signalled the lupe to come closer, which he did, grumbling.  
  
"this, my freinds, is Rako, spy of the Lequa and a formidable oponent. if im right youve met him before?"  
  
"before?" velmon was puzzled. then he realised; the lupe was the stranger who had attacked them in the neolodge!  
  
he growled and said nothing.  
  
Dorgon turned to the shoyru  
  
"how did you know he was coming here?" she questioned, interested in the big shoyrus seemingly unbeatable strength.  
  
"i know a lot that you'll be interested in, dorgon. which is how i got here before rako had taken the pair of you back to the lequa. you see, while rako is an acomplished spy, he is-unlike others-rarely succesful. and i ve been watching him closely myself these past few days. it seems hes been seeing a lot of you recently"  
  
dorgon thought back to the first day in the neolodge when they had seen him, the scary night at velmons, and now here. it was more than true hed been around them a lot.  
  
"im sorry, i dont know your name" velmon was saying to the shoyru.  
  
"names Liothe. i was born here like you two, however i didnt stay. i left the mainland to get to mystery island training camp. i spent years there, and found out a few other things as well. which led me to the conclusion that the lequa is on the loose again.  
  
dorgon sat down heavily with her hooves supporting her head.  
  
"i just dont understand" she said. "i thought once the portal to A-zone had been closed off from the other world, no-one would be able to get through. so how did the lequa manage to break back through?"  
  
Liothe and Velmon sat down then. it was obvious the shoyru was going to be a long time explaining.  
  
"the Zhiah is a great powerful being, our literal web of reality that holds neopia together. he holds power that none other than the lequa posess. he alone can trap away evil into zones such as the A-zone , and there they cannot change. anything could be trapped there, absaloutley anything in either worlds could be shut away and never ever get out. they would live forever in the zone they had been confined to. eventually, they would die out and the zone would be safe to be open again. in the lequas case, his power rivals the zhiahs in a complete match and therefore when the lequa was shut away he was able to create his own portals to other places-except where the portal had been closed off. when the zhiah made the zones, they were available only by one way in and out, and so you could not go from one zone to another-say A to K-but you would travel from the prime zone to A, and then back again, and if you wanted to get to another zone it would be from the prime zone. the zhiah made it this way so no evil would trave between zones. if one place was inhabited by darkness, the portal was closed and the other world was still safe. but the lequa grew more powerful in his realm of A-zone and created to portals to neopia, our world. which is how rako came to be here" he broke off and glanced at rako who was still sulking in the corner like a child. "as yet he has not made portals to the prime zone, but he grows ever more powerful in A-zone and we, being peaceful people, have no possible way of stopping him. we have no choice but to submit to him" a dull, defeated look had come to his eyes. "our careful world-so full of joy and love and bright plain simple happiness-dark , and ruled by a tyrant.."he broke of emotionally and looked to the sky. for a while he said nothing, then once composed again, he turned to them, eyes shining.   
  
"there is still hope, though. there are lands the dark will not reach as yet. the Old Tales told of such a time-but if we could only find the old tales again, and read the rest of the story..i know there was more to it than the end! there must be!"  
  
Dorgon stared at him, a slow but spreading excitement and hope spreading through her in spite of his dismal story. The Old Tales. where had she heard that before?  
  
The quest of The Zhiah-Part Five-The Old Tales Told Again  
  
"the Old Tales" Dorgon Repeated. "what happened to them?"  
  
"the old tales was the journal of a great ancestor of mine, Rekento the Shoyru. when he journeyed the land he found the portal the zhiah had made between our world and theirs. he went through to the prime zone and learnt everything we know about the zhiah and lequa today. the old tales is the journal he kept , it has everything in there from the day he learnt it. its an honest, true story if there ever was one, the most beleivable of all tales told of this situation. when my father returned, the greater neopains thought the story would scare the people and took his journal from him. it was kept in the great library for countless years, and then Nyrubi the shoyru-my grandfather-took the old tales from the snobbish librarians and gave it to a dear freind of his, Mioli the uni. she was a good woman, and kept the old tales hidden until she knew one day that she was dyeing. she gave the book to her daughter, Zarran the uni. zarren was a good person too, but she feared the greater neopians and lived in hiding for most of her life. it is said she gave the old tales to her daughter, but we never found out what became of her daughter. so the tale stands to this today, and still no-one is any the wiser" he trailed off, and then turned to dorgon, who was staring, disbeleiving at him, and also trembling slighty.  
  
"the old tales" she repeated once more. she reached down into the bag that always rested at her feet wherever she stood. she brought out a heavy, thick, dusty volume and carefully wipeing the front cover she showed the others.   
  
it was an old book, brown leather with swirly gold writing on it. it read,   
  
MAPS OF THE OLD TALES-WHAT HAPPENED NEXT   
  
" my Grandfathers mapbook!" Liothe gasped, carefully taked hold and opening the book. "i mever thought i would find this!" he turned to dorgon. "you are-you are Zarrens daughter?" he trembled. " i never thought you would stand before me. you have no idea how much this means to me! your mother was a very good person" he said.  
  
dorgon nodded, a tear sliding down her face at the thought of her dear mother, now gone but not forgotten.  
  
Liothe carefully thumbed through the book. "these are hand-drawn maps by my grandfather. he drew them after reading rekento 's journal . both books were given to mioli when the greater neopians caught rekento and got rid of him. i dont supose-i dont supose you have the journal?" he asked cautiously.  
  
"she shook her head. "when my mother gave me the old mapbook she gave me no journal. i promised never to tell of her , but what happened was this. when she found out what happend to nyrubi, she refused to hand the journal down to me . she feared my life would be upon it and fled to another place. i dont know where she went, or if she still lives. if she does still live on-then shell have the book. my mother wouldnt have given the book for anything less than her life. and if she has died-then the book is in the hands of the library again. but theyl have kept quiet, wouldnt they? espeacially if they had-had-" she stumbled off, unable to bring herself to say her mothers fate.  
  
"theres only one way to find out. theres no use risking a trip to the library archives if we dont have to. but if we visit the brain tree-itll be in his records" liothe said quietly. then he turned to dorgon and velmon.   
  
"there is an obvious way forward. we must first visit the brain tree to determine what exactly we do.if she is dead we visit the library. if she still lives on , we are in for a tough time. we'll have to search the land and risk the comsequences of wasting time. now, theres something we need to do. are you in to the end of this?"  
  
"im in" dorgon said immediately.   
  
"theres no other way" velmon agreed, a bit more reluctantly.  
  
"okay" said liothe. "we have things to do"  
  
"hey said velmon. "what about rako?"  
  
they had completely forgotten. and now he had heard everything.  
  
Rako had stopped sulking and had listened intently when talk of the old tales has started. he too had known Zarren, before the lequa had taken him into service. he had helped her to hide away and knew exactly where she was- if she still lived on.   
  
however, he wasnt willing to part with this information for noting. it was aobvious the big shoyru would never let him back to the lequa now - he had heard too much. so i he was to get along in the world it looked like hed have to join the three on their epic trek to save neopia. that would be awkward and dishonest at the least, and dangerous. and what if all failed? the lequa would never take him back. he would die as a mortal on this earth.  
  
but what if they succeeded? what if they saved neopia and banished the lequa forever? he would finally be accepted into a positive thinking community, and live his last days in peace. yes, it was time to forget his past and go the right way. standing up stiffly, he walked towards them. they looked at him curiously. the shoyru still had the mapbook.  
  
"i know you all think im a treacherous villain" he started gruffly, " but ive seen now ive done wrong and that the only way to save our planet is not by means of power or darkness but by the way the old tales will show us.and i have something that is of use to you. i know exactly where zarren will be, should she live on today. i knew her well before the lequa employed me" he finished there and awaited a response.  
  
"well" Liothe said eventually. "it seems you are of some use to us, rako , and we shall certainly take you along with us, on a simple condition. do you promise that treachery and spying-thats all behind you now? can we trust you?"  
  
"yes" he replied. "yes, you can trust me"  
  
"then lets go" liothe said, and they set out for the brain tree.  
  
it wasnt quite light yet as the four stumbled over the rough ground to get to the haunted forest. dorgon's past despair had gone and a small fizz of excitement had spread throug h her, just like when liothe had talked of the old tales. it was beginning. there was hope left to neopia.  
  
Velmon was not an adventurous peophin. he prefered to stay in his shop and sell items to the middle class neopians. however he had no doubt dorgon would be in to the finish and did not intend to be left out of it.  
  
Liothe felt a sort of responsibility over the two but had a slight doubt in mind about rako and whether he could truly be trusted and whether the pas twas trult behind him.  
  
Rako, though, knew he was truly sorry and ready to make up for it-although of course, being a big lupe hed never admit it.   
  
the four carried on their journey through the dark damp woods until the unmistakable figure of the brain tree began to loom before them. he glared at them solidly as they approached and velmon felt a slight misgiving in his relentless gaze.   
  
it was rako who did the talking , surprisingly. he knew the quirky old brain tree well and knew how to handle him.the tree greeted him grandly despite his earlier faces.   
  
"ahh, my old freind rako, what a pleasure to see you again. i take you need information- i couldnt imagene you here for a quest. so. what is you need?"  
  
Rako took a deep breath and began. "brain tree, do you remember a book called the old tales?"   
  
" old tales, eh? never thought i hear of them again. still, its an appropriate time i supose. yes i remember them alright. without them thered be no hope whatsoever"  
  
velmon looked curiously at the brain tree. "do you know something we dont?" he asked boldly. it seemed the brain had a lot to tell them.  
  
The Quest of the Zhiah-Part Six-The Brain Tree explains   
  
the tree lost his faraway look and frowned at velmon. "i know plently that is not for you to know. what is for you to decide is what to do when the time is upon you. now if i may continue, mr...?" he turned a hand at him.  
  
"velmon. yes, carry on." he said hastily, sensing he had made a fool of himself.   
  
"very well. now, rako. what would you want with the old tales? you never showed a slightests interest in either lequa nor zhiah when i knew you"  
  
Rako shuffled awkwardly. "well, ive learnt a bit since then. about the lequa i mean. actually ive worked for him" he blurted in a sudden moment of honesty. catching the braintrees eye which seemed ever steady even at this piece of news, he quickly added; " but thats over now. im helping to stop him"  
  
"yes,yes, vey good, my lupe. i now see what you would need the old tales for" he said, eyebrows raised slightly. "however i dont see how i can be of help to you. " i keep records of neopians only-birth and death, every one of them. what do you need from me?"  
  
"we'd like to know about zarren" Velmon took over , seeing as rako's gruff side had come out again and he was likely to be blunt and difficult to understand.  
  
"ah yes. zarren" was the reply, and the faraway look returned to his faded old eyes. "poor, poor creature. so beautiful , yet so unmercifully taken down. never done a days harm in her life.....poor, poor creature." the tree was starting to wander off the point. when he said no more rako pushed dorgon forward and took matters to his own hands.   
  
"brain tree, this is Dorgon, Daughter of zarren and granddaughter to mioli. we came to find out if zarren still lives"  
  
"still lives?" the tree said blankly, as if it were a ridiculous thought. "no, how could she live on with the burden she carried, and the greater of us so sure they were right..and now her daughter, in the same spot. there must be bad blood somewhere, dorgon. your mother.. im afraid the greater neopians decided it would be too dangerous for her to live. it would prick the perfect shell of their lives with a very sharp needle indeed, if we were to even contemplate taking on the lequa again....she died a long time ago now."  
  
Dorgon stepped back quietly, in her own little world. It was Rako again who stood forward.   
  
"so the old tales are back in the library, then" he said quielty. "it is as i feared"  
  
"do not lose hope, young ones" the brain tree spoke on. " before your mother fled the land, dorgon, she gave me something to give to you.it will help yu in the library , and also help you on your journey." he handed them a folded yellow old peice of paper. dorgon took it gently and opened it with greatest of care.  
  
dearest dorgon  
  
i hope you are safe and well. i am so sorry for leaving you. the old tales is with me now and i will not part for it on my life. i know you are the one to stop the evil and i know one day you will bring peace to the world again. should they ever take the book from me i know exactly where it will be in their archives. follow the map on the other side of this paper and you will be lead right to the secret backroom . it will be in there somewhere most likely locked away. that is all i can tell you. as yet it has not been taken of me. if you ever wish to seek me out you must turn to rako, a great freind of mine who is the only soul i told of my wherabouts. do not fear the past or future, you are truly the chosen one to bring this to an end. i loveyou so much.  
  
your mother.  
  
dorgon turned the paper over and looked at the map. it showed a trail of dotted lines leading right round to a door hidden away round the back, and a detailed layout of the backroom and where the book might be.  
  
"she was a good person, your mother, dorgon. she beleived in you as much as i do. you now have a way forward, and things to do. time is precious and so is our neopia. go now. you cannot fail, dorgon. you may not succeed but you will never fail."  
  
she turned to him, shaking.  
  
"you all have such faith in me yet i am so afraid and i am no-one special. i can try my best to do this but im not strong enough to defeat him, i never was. i can only show the way. i cannot be the chosen one-it is impossible."  
  
"nothing is impossible, dorgon. dont you see? only you can show the way! it was meant to be. your family and the great shoyru who found everything we know about this today were meant to do that, and you in your turn are meant to stop this evil before it gets out of control. you see, the lequa has powers we cannot even begin to imagene. how did you first feel the problem grow?" he asked.  
  
"i watched my freind she sky" she answered steadily.   
  
"you see now? who else can see the fate of their world in the sky? it cannot be read like a   
  
book, there is only one who can sense it and defeat it. that is you , dorgon. the lequa senses you, the zhiah knows it is you, even your dear mother knew it. nothing that is required of you is beyond your ability, dorgon. you say you can only show the way. if so then that is your destiny, you must show the way. In the same respect Liothe must protect you all , Velmon must stick by you and understand where others are phased, Rako must fight down those who oppose you. together you are stronger than should you stand alone. but you are not complete. this will come in due course, your destiny is the path you now take and it will meet you when the time is come. There is no going back now. youve come a long way, from the learnings of Rekento to today. there is no way back. you must go forward. yuo must , dorgon. only you are able to do this. will you take your place in fate?"  
  
dorgon never broke eye contact with the tree as she knelt down before him. "i take up my challenge. w go together. i promise you , mr brain tree, i will serve neopia well"  
  
"you will do us proud, dorgon. now you must go to the library. it will be dark soon, you will go by cover of night. do not forget what i have told you."  
  
"never" stepped forward Liothe. "we will never forget. thank you, mr brain tree" he said, and the four began the long walk back to the library.   
  
by the time the big old red brick building had come into veiw it was thouroughly dark and the shops had been shut up for the night.  
  
there was one light still on . obviously the cleaner was still going round the main library dusting chairs and shelves . hopefully the backroom was so secret that even the cleaner wouldnt know about it.  
  
"this looks like a mark thats on the map" dorgon said, and they took a left turning into the dank undergrowth. after a while of fighting their way through weeds, a worn old path came into veiw and they stumbled along that until they came to a fork in the path.  
  
"better look on the map" Liothe called to dorgon, who was near the front. she fumbled around and pulled the map out of her pocket.   
  
" i need a torch" she called back. " i cant see in this wood"  
  
"im pretty sure ive got one somewhere" Liothe said, and began to search his bag. a tinder box fell out.   
  
"ive got a tinder box" he replied. " i can light a match, as long as you dont hold it too close to the paper it should be alright. okay?"  
  
"yes, that'll be fine"  
  
Dorgon was getting fidgety waiting. she had a bad feeling about this place.  
  
Liothe felt about for his tinderbox but it had fallen out of his reach. he scrabbled about but couldnt feel it anywhere.  
  
leaning right down into the moist weeds, he scanned the ground. then he gasped, and gave a yell.  
  
staring at him from the undergrowth was a huge, yellow pair of eyes!!!  
  
The Quest of the zhiah-part seven-The Fifth Adventurer  
  
"theres someone in there!" Liothe yelled. "put the map away, dorgon!" he called.  
  
Dorgon hurridly began stuffing the map into her pocket but it was too late. The Creature with yellow eyes leapt out and snatched the map from dorgons hooves.  
  
"Quick, Liothe! after him!" Shouted Rako. the two ran after the yellow-eyed creature and soon began to catch up.  
  
it may have been a fast animal but rako on all fours was much faster. he sprinted ahead cheetah like and tackled the thing to the ground. Liothe jumped after him and pinned it down. the animal whimpered.  
  
"wheres our map?" Rako growled, his feirce face close to the animals.   
  
"you dont understand" it howled. "thats the map to-"  
  
"the secret backroom in the library where the old tales is"  
  
"the secret backroom in the library where the old tales is" Rako and Liothe chorused.  
  
"then it is true! gasped the animal."i was told by a freind of mine who was taken by the greater neopians recently that the rebellion had begun-but i didnt think it possible. i set out to do it myself and then came across you with the map-i thought you were greater neopians-and then you had the map of my freind-  
  
" you were freinds with my mother?" Dorgon and velmon had caught up then. "who are you?"  
  
there was a small choking sound.  
  
"Liothe, get off him, he cant speak"  
  
"im not a he" the animal gasped in air as Liothe released the pressure of his throat. "my name is Wysem and im a Kougra. i knew your mother well. she lodged with me on krawk island when she fled the mainland. i came back here when they took her to finish what Rekento started"  
  
a small smile spread slowly over Liothes face.  
  
"remember what the old tree said? we are not yet complete but it would come in time? i think we are complete now. Wysem, we are four adventurers trying to stop the lequa. we've been to see the brain tree, and now we have to steal the old tales from the library archives. you see, we're sure what we have to do to defeat the lequa is in there!"  
  
"youd be right there" Wysem said. "when Rekento spoke to the zhiah the zhiah told him all....even how to defeat the lequa. but getting the old tales is going to be no easy job. you cant take a whole load of you in there. one had better go. whos small?" she glanced round   
  
and caught sight of dorgon.   
  
"daughter of zarren? you go in. you have the map, it explains it perfectly clearly. its easy really. you see, where theres a cross, it means the key is there, and the circle is the hole in the wall where the key has to go. theres a safe in there where the old tales is. take it out of the safe and ill meet you in the doorway. then we can get it back to the others"  
  
dorgon looked doubt ful, but nodded. she and wysem stole away into the night and headed towards the big building. Liothe, Rako and Velmon headed more slowly after them.  
  
Velmon had a niggling feeling that all was not right. they had only just met wysem after all. it seemed a bit soon to be trusting her with the fate of neopia.  
  
"i dont know about you but i dont like the feeling im getting" Velmon said."do you think we can trust wysem? we only just met her you know"  
  
"but she knew zarren" Liothe argued fairly. "i think shes fine. but ive got a strange feeling too. i dont think we're very safe here. we better go" panic rose in his voice as he spoke. "come on lets move. come on! GO!" he shouted, as if an electric bolt had been put through him. he leapt up and began to run.   
  
Rako looked aat velmon and shrugged. "supose we better follow him" he said. then began to run as well, but rakp seemed to drag back and had trouble breathing.  
  
"are you alright, rako? you look terrible" Velmon said worridly.  
  
"oh, thanks" rako croaked. " im fine" he stumbled on a few paces then fell to the ground on his side.  
  
" Rako! whats wrong?" velmon was now desperately concerned and rako seemed unable to get to his feet.  
  
he struggled, his paws flying out as he reached for a hold. " i cant get up!" he too had the panic in his voice and seemed disorientated. his head lolled back and he couldnt speak clearly.  
  
"rako! dont do this! i cant look after you on my own!" he said desperately.  
  
Rako's head suddenly shot bolt upright   
  
"The Lequa-Liothe-Old Tales-Under a-a- underneath a log-must look under the log-Liothe-" he stuttered ,then his head was limp on the floor again.  
  
just then Liothe came flying through the trees, his eyes bright and hands shaking.  
  
"velmon? im so sorry i ran off like that! my head wasnt clear. oh" he caught sight of rako on the floor. "is he-is he alright?"  
  
suddenly velmon remembered what rako had said. "under a log! Liothe, look under a log!"  
  
"what??" liothe replied, flabbergasted. "what are you on about?"  
  
"rako said it, before he went unconsious. something about the lequa and the old tales-and then you had to look under a log."  
  
"which log?" he questioned.  
  
"i dont know" velmon despaired. then, on glancing round, "that log!!"  
  
under the massive oaks and surrounded by a pile of nettles, was the biggest log velmon had ever seen. it looked like it could had reached the faerie city if it had been upright.  
  
"wow" liothe was at his side now. "thats amazing! how can we look under that?"  
  
"youll have to lift it"  
  
"me? lift that? how? i dont have superpowers, velmon. to lift that youd need an amy"  
  
on the last word liothe spoke , the sounds of drums going deep below began to rattle through the ground. it sounded like a thousand feet were stamping at the same rythmic pattern over and over again.  
  
"you wanted an army?" velmon whispered. "i think you just got one"  
  
the two stared fixedly at the log. it was bouncing up and down with the force of the drumming from benath.every time it jumped it went a little higher . one time it leapt upright and then crashed back down again with tremendous force.  
  
"oh my gosh" velmon said. "didnt you say we'd need an army to lift this log?"  
  
The log was really jumping now, right high up vertical and then slamming back down onto the ground, making the whole earth shake. if it wasnt for the drumming of the people benath they woul have fallen over.  
  
"im being bounced about all over the place" complained liothe, grabbing a thick stem.  
  
the log gave another huge bounce, balanced upright, and then fell back down the opposite way. the log had been lifted.  
  
"thats incredible!" liothe said, running forward to the gap in the ground . it was a huge hollow cavern in the ground. the bottom was brightly decorated with millions of flowers of every kind, and on each flower sat a butterfly. it was a sight that brought joy to every heart, the beautiful radient colours glowing onto their eager faces.  
  
"now that is a sight. but what use is it to us?" 


End file.
